The Sweetest Gift
by DetectiveMinerva
Summary: It's Stacy's birthday, and the kids are preparing special presents to give her. But when Dan's present suddenly vanishes, Mr. Conductor and the children must work to create something new - although Stacy's real gift may already be right there all along...


I was feeling nostalgic recently and decided to rewatch _Shining Time Station. _Needless to say, I fell in love with the show all over again, and I wanted to write a full-length story - a "lost episode" from Season 3, if you will. This is actually an old idea I had a long time ago, but I've never gotten it down fully until now. In this story, Dan makes something special for Stacy's birthday, but disaster strikes, and he and the girls must figure out how to fix it - with a little help from Mr. Conductor, of course! Both a "lost episode" and a tribute to the mother/son bond between Stacy and Dan, I hope STS fans of all ages will enjoy this tale!

* * *

"Where's Dan? You don't think he forgot, do you?"

"No way! Dan would never forget this! Stacy's his aunt; I think he'd rather wash Schemer's stinky socks than forget her birthday."

Becky laughed out loud. She and Kara had just arrived, as always, at their favorite hangout: Shining Time Station. Every day at the station brought a new surprise, but today, there was something extra-special in store. Today just happened to be the birthday of Stacy Jones, stationmaster and friend to the kids - and aunt to Dan, who was nowhere to be found.

"You think maybe he's finishing her birthday present?"

"That might be it. Dan said he was making her something, but he wouldn't tell me what it was."

"I made my present, too." Becky reached into her gift bag and pulled out a beaded necklace. "I made it with red crystal beads, so it'll sparkle when Stacy wears it."

"That's pretty! My mom helped me make her a scarf." Kara proudly displayed the scarf, knitted out of warm red yarn. "She's been teaching me how to crochet."

Suddenly, a cloud of gold dust appeared out of thin air, and a minute man materialized on Stacy's desk. "Did someone say _croquet_? I love playing croquet, but the last time I tried, I had a disagreement with my horse. And they say mules are stubborn!"

Becky and Kara grinned. Anyone else would have leapt a mile at the sight of this tiny fellow, but not them. Mr. Conductor was their good friend, and his magic was part of their lives. Not to mention, he told the most amazing stories about the trains on the Island of Sodor. "Not croquet, Mr. Conductor; _crochet,_" Kara explained with a laugh. "My mom and I made this scarf for Stacy's birthday."

"It's Stacy's birthday today? Thanks for reminding me!" Mr. Conductor exclaimed. "I have a present for her, too - a special bouquet of flowers from the Island of Sodor."

"What's so special about them?" Becky asked. The question was not unkind; merely curious.

"Each flower in the bunch was chosen by one of the engines. Thomas picked a delphinium because Stacy loves to have fun; Gordon picked a snapdragon because Stacy's strong -"

"And because he's the strongest engine, I bet!" Kara said, prompting a grin from Mr. Conductor.

"And James picked a rose because Stacy's favorite color is red."

"Because he's red, too, right?" Becky asked impishly.

"Right!" Mr. Conductor eyed both of their gifts. "You have a gift and you have a gift, but where's Dan? He wouldn't forget Stacy's birthday, would he?"

"Not in a million years!" The exuberant cry heralded the arrival of Dan, who trotted up to the group with a freshly baked pie in his hands. The smell was enough to make everyone's mouths water.

"Dan, is that Stacy's present?" Becky asked. "You made her a pie?"

"Yup! Well, my mom helped me make it, but this is Aunt Stacy's birthday present: her favorite, strawberry pie."

"It sure looks good. I love strawberries," Becky said, gazing longingly at the ripe red strawberry filling and flaky crust.

Kara's expression was a mirror of Becky's. "Yeah, me too."

Warily, Dan held the pie closer to himself. "You guys aren't gonna try and eat it, are you?"

Hurt flashed across the girls' faces. "Dan, how can you say that? We'd never eat Stacy's present!" Becky burst out.

"Yeah, we'd wait until she gave us a piece," said Kara, frowning at Dan. "Don't you trust us?"

Mr. Conductor quickly came to the rescue. "Of course he trusts you. I think he just wants to make sure Stacy gets her gift before anyone else eats it. Right, Dan?"

Dan's shoulders relaxed. "Right. I do trust you guys; it's just… I worked really hard on this pie. I want it to be special for Aunt Stacy." He offered them an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Kara was all smiles again. "I know I'd be mad if someone took the scarf I made for Stacy."

"Yeah, and I'd be mad if the necklace I made got stolen, too," said Becky. "Hey, why don't we put our presents in Billy's workshop, to keep them safe?"

"Great idea, Becky!" Mr. Conductor said, while Dan and Kara voiced eager _yeahs! _"While you're hiding Stacy's presents, I'd better head back to Sodor and get my flowers. If I don't, Diesel might add some stinkweed, and that would _really_ stink." In a flash of gold, he was gone.

"Come on," said Becky, motioning for her friends to follow her. "Billy's in there right now. He'll let us hide our presents."

The kids vanished into the workshop in the nick of time. Just as the door closed, Stacy entered the station… followed by a _very _off-key voice singing "Happy Birthday."

"Happy birthday to you!" Midge Smoot finished with a grand flourish of her hands and a huge grin, as though she expected applause.

Privately, Stacy was concealing a wince. She had once heard Schemer compare Midge's singing to cats yowling on a fence, and though she hated to agree with Schemer on much, the description was pretty spot-on. Nevertheless, she put on a smile and thanked Midge for the birthday wishes.

"Oh, Stacy, you must be so excited! Think of all the wonderful gifts you'll get today!"

"Oh, I don't need anything," Stacy said modestly. "Sure, presents are nice, but just coming to work here at Shining Time Station and spending time with my friends is a gift."

Midge looked at Stacy as though she had grown two heads. "Stacy, don't you know that presents are a sign of how many people love you?"

"Oh, no, they're not -"

"Why, a pretty, hardworking girl like you should be drowning in gifts on her birthday! I'd better go spread the word! By the end of the day, everyone will know that Stacy Jones is the most well-loved person in the Indian Valley!" Flushed with excitement, Midge zipped out of the station, completely oblivious to Stacy's protest to stop.

Stacy let out a frustrated groan and sank down on her stool in the ticket booth. "She doesn't understand. I don't need presents to know I'm loved." A sudden flash of gold startled her, but she quickly relaxed once Mr. Conductor appeared. "You look like a lady in a middle, Stacy," he observed. "I thought birthdays were supposed to be fun."

"They are, but Midge is dead set on me having too much fun." Mr. Conductor raised a curious eyebrow, so Stacy poured out her thoughts. "She thinks gifts are a measure of someone's love for you. I tried telling her it's not the presents that show love; it's the thought behind them, but she didn't listen. So, she's out forcing everyone in the valley to get me a present." Stacy sighed. "I don't know why people can't see that the real gift is thinking of the ones you love and showing them you care."

"Oh, even engines can't see that," Mr. Conductor said sagely. "Gordon thought the other engines on the Island of Sodor were going to give him a lot of presents because he was a big, strong blue engine. Thomas and Edward had to teach him a very valuable lesson."

"I'd love to hear it, Mr. Conductor," Stacy said eagerly, her brown eyes sparkling with excitement.

Mr. Conductor smiled. Nothing gave him more pleasure than telling stories, and it thrilled him to know that Stacy and Billy loved them as much as the children did. "All right! I'll tell you all about it!" And with a blow on his whistle, he began the tale of Gordon's gift.


End file.
